Sierra 1500 diesel questions

[Whistlingwings]

Hey everyone, I’ve been following this forum for a while and am now in the market for a new truck. I searched and couldn’t find what I was looking for so I have a few questions hopefully can get some answers...

 

Im looking to get the Sierra 1500 crew cab standard box in the elevation trim and am debating between the 5.3L V8 or the 3.0 duramax. I was looking at the ram ecodiesel and everyone told me to stay away simply because my use of the truck wouldn’t justify the extra costs of the diesel over the gas, so I have several questions comparing the two maintenance wise as well as daily use...

 

Ill be using the truck as my daily driver In Southern California. I drive roughly 15K miles per year, with a healthy mix of 50/50 city/hwy. Obviously, the MPG is the main reason I’m interested in the diesel, especially since I’d like to add AT tires and a small lift. I’m possibly in the market for a lite travel trailer in the next few years, that would get used maybe 10x per year. I k ow this is a newer engine, but with daily driving, is this duramax a good idea? I was told by the ram community that the ecodiesel is meant for towing and LONG trips....is the duramax any different? 
 

second, I was pushed away from the ecodiesel bc everyone mentioned the high cost of oil changes, filters, and everything else that adds up during normal maintenance. Is the duramax cheaper to maintain as far as oil changes than the ecodiesel? I’ve heard from other forums the ED cost between $150-$200 for a 10K oil change. How is the duramax in this category? 
 

 

[Rubyralph]

Welcome, one of my reasons for buying my Silverado LT 3.0 Duramax was the tow rating at a reasonable RPM, I towed with a 2017 5.3 and was tired of the 6 speed transmission and the high RPM's at highway speeds.

As for your question about the oil change cost between the Ram ecodiesel and the 3.0 Duramax this was another reason I picked the Duramax. I compared the oil, oil filter, and fuel filter cost and was disappointed of how expensive the Ram was for common maintenance! I did test drive a 2020  Ram ecodiesel and liked the engine and interior but did encounter a few harsh down shifts from second into first gear. The lower maintenance cost on the GM Duramax is what finally made me decide on the Silverado and the better mileage on the  Silverado too.

I get a discount at my Chevy dealership on parts and paid under $5.00/Qt. for 0W-20 Dextros D oil the engine takes 7 qts. vs. 10.? in the ecodiesel

The oil filter was also under $5.00 (PF-66), I haven't bought a AC Delco fuel filter yet but  I did look at the Ram fuel filter cost...WOW!  

Good luck on your new truck and buy what works for you!

[steve841]

To add:  I traded my 2019 6.2L simply because I couldnt take the MPG anymore.

 

I'm 1,100 miles in and couldnt be happier.  It's been fantastic.

 

It's not really my daily driver but my weekend tow vehicle. Towing mileage is at least 25% better towing and around 40% better in normal driving.

 

DEF ... no big deal.  I've used 2.5 gallons so far.

 

Oil changes shouldn't be more than $70.00 

 

[Whistlingwings]

So as far as a daily driver, how would this engine perform in the long run with the EGR and everything else that seemed to get clogged in the ecodiesel? My commute is 12 miles to work one way, mostly freeway. I’ll have Short stop and go trips Beteeen work as well 

[Whistlingwings]

Given this is a newer engine, I know it’s hard to gauge longevity as I’m sure most owners aren’t anywhere close to high miles yet. But have there been any reported issues with the little diesel?

[steve841]

It's got a 5yr/100,000mile powertrain warranty ...

 

Im not losing sleep at all.

 

Most of the "daily" drives I do are 5-10 miles round trip.

[Duramax3oh]

I tend to be a worry wart when it comes to things like this (e.g. 3.0 diesel short trip commutes). But I also feel like I way overthink things. 

 

Few of my thoughts/questions that are kind of in line with what you're asking about:

 

1) Do you see more benefit with the 3.0L with longer commutes than short ones? Yes.

2) Does that automatically make it a bad engine if you have shorter commutes? No, false equivalence.

3) The rationale behind diesel being bad for short commutes, I believe, is due to a diesel engine "needing" to warm up to perform optimally. Quicker to cool down when parked too, I presume?

    3a) My suspicion is that's knowledge about big diesel engines over decades. Is that rule still applicable to the newer smaller diesel engines? Would they naturally take less time to warm up for optimal performance.

    3b) Aside for being say half the size, do any of the new components and features in the design of how the engine starts, operates, etc. play any role in the engine warming up quicker, getting to optimal performance faster?

    3c) Does the individual climate have any significant bearing to this general rule? Would this be less of an issue for these engines that are in Southern Cal, Arizona, Texas where temperatures are naturally "very" high vs. Northern climates when it's colder and even freezing? If so, how much of a factor does this play into it. If in the South we have a short commute and it's parked outside in 90+ degree temp I'm sure the engine/lubricants/etc are staying much warmer than someone that has to let their truck warm up for 15 minutes in the morning in the snow. Which subsequently makes restarting the engine much easier, cleaner, less stressful, right?

    3d) We talk about optimal performance, but even if it's not operating at "optimal performance" does it necessarily mean it's performing bad or is bad for the engine? Could it still be performing better than an alternative engine?

 

This is all food for thought and hopefully  a good discussion. Like most things in life I think so many individuals (myself included) get stuck with a thought/rule/etc and think it applies to all future circumstances.

 

[newdude]

18 hours ago, Whistlingwings said:

Hey everyone, I’ve been following this forum for a while and am now in the market for a new truck. I searched and couldn’t find what I was looking for so I have a few questions hopefully can get some answers...

 

Im looking to get the Sierra 1500 crew cab standard box in the elevation trim and am debating between the 5.3L V8 or the 3.0 duramax. I was looking at the ram ecodiesel and everyone told me to stay away simply because my use of the truck wouldn’t justify the extra costs of the diesel over the gas, so I have several questions comparing the two maintenance wise as well as daily use...

 

Ill be using the truck as my daily driver In Southern California. I drive roughly 15K miles per year, with a healthy mix of 50/50 city/hwy. Obviously, the MPG is the main reason I’m interested in the diesel, especially since I’d like to add AT tires and a small lift. I’m possibly in the market for a lite travel trailer in the next few years, that would get used maybe 10x per year. I k ow this is a newer engine, but with daily driving, is this duramax a good idea? I was told by the ram community that the ecodiesel is meant for towing and LONG trips....is the duramax any different? 
 

second, I was pushed away from the ecodiesel bc everyone mentioned the high cost of oil changes, filters, and everything else that adds up during normal maintenance. Is the duramax cheaper to maintain as far as oil changes than the ecodiesel? I’ve heard from other forums the ED cost between $150-$200 for a 10K oil change. How is the duramax in this category? 
 

 

 

 

The towing and long trips is the general consensus with any of the new DPF and DEF equipped diesels no matter 1500 or HD.  Short trips and long idling kills the new ones, loads up the DPF and will regen every 100-200miles, soot up the NOX and DPF sensors which then will eventually fail and need replacement.  EGR valves and coolers can coke up bad too.   

 

I do know that there was one member on here who was spouting that a bunch of diesel folk who own a diesel/work on diesels were spouting lots of "misinformation" to what some people were saying.  Not sure if it was his first one or not, but he was strong on the fact that everyone in the thread was lying.  We see the HD diesels in quite frequently for various sensor failures (Chevrolet dealership).  Lots of them are farmers who idle all day long or go from the farm 3 miles down to the local restaurant.  Once and a while they go on a long trip or more than a 10 mile drive.  The 2011-2016 HDs were the most notorious for failures in general of all the sensors, even some of the ones that were worked hard or driven long distances.  Colorado/Canyon do pretty good for the most part.  I had one of the DEF heaters fail, but other than that, nothing else.  We've done one or two NOX sensors on them.    

 

That said, your work commute sounds like a good enough drive to get everything happy as far as engine temps, exhaust temps, etc.  You might see more frequent regens than the average or you might not.  50/50 city/highway will probably regen every 250-300 miles.  When I had my Colorado, it was about 350-400 miles per regen, 32 miles round trip home/work/home.  Got great mileage in that little thing too.

 

As far as issues with the 3.0?  Nothing really yet.  There is one or two recalls that came out to address some emissions parts, nothing more than programming. 

 

    

[Duramax3oh]

Other food for thought when comparing what fits your lifestyle best and in terms of usability. Compare fuel tank gallon size + MPG when towing.

 

Made-up figures/trucks as follows: 

Truck A: 22 gallon tank, 8 MPG avg when towing = 176 mile range

Truck B: 24 gallon tank, 12 MPG avg when towing = 288 mile range

 

How would that play into your decision? 

[Duramax3oh]

31 minutes ago, newdude said:

The towing and long trips is the general consensus with any of the new DPF and DEF equipped diesels no matter 1500 or HD.  Short trips and long idling kills the new ones, loads up the DPF and will regen every 100-200miles, soot up the NOX and DPF sensors which then will eventually fail and need replacement.  EGR valves and coolers can coke up bad too.   

 

I do know that there was one member on here who was spouting that a bunch of diesel folk who own a diesel/work on diesels were spouting lots of "misinformation" to what some people were saying.  Not sure if it was his first one or not, but he was strong on the fact that everyone in the thread was lying.  We see the HD diesels in quite frequently for various sensor failures (Chevrolet dealership).  Lots of them are farmers who idle all day long or go from the farm 3 miles down to the local restaurant.  Once and a while they go on a long trip or more than a 10 mile drive.  The 2011-2016 HDs were the most notorious for failures in general of all the sensors, even some of the ones that were worked hard or driven long distances.  Colorado/Canyon do pretty good for the most part.  I had one of the DEF heaters fail, but other than that, nothing else.  We've done one or two NOX sensors on them.        

Great information and definitely applies to some of the questions I've had... thanks!

Especially the part about long idles being bad and why. I was actually operating quite opposite thinking that keeping it idling instead of turning it off and then back on quickly would be better.

[BJ Niceguy]

have a question on idling on the 3.0. I assume when you are talking about long idling you mean when someone stops ata location and goes inside for 15 minutes and leaves it running, not setting at stop lights? I really don't like the idea of it shutting off at every stop sigh / light when driving local. I know it does not do it in tow mode, but wish there was a way to stop it other than remembering to hit switch every time start vehicle. I don't think it can be great on starter and battery even on gas units. Opinions??

[BurnsMax]

https://www.autostopeliminator.com/collections/gm is what I use and it works great.  I hated having to remember to hit the button to shut it off every time you restart the truck.

[Duramax3oh]

4 hours ago, BurnsMax said:

https://www.autostopeliminator.com/collections/gm is what I use and it works great.  I hated having to remember to hit the button to shut it off every time you restart the truck.

I got the same one and love it. Hands down best purchase

[ullose272]

Also remember the dpf is located right under the turbo and not further downstream under the truck. This allows it to warm up faster and is hotter than downstream. We will see how this works out but i believe that it will help keep it cleaner. Also the 3.0 warms up way faster than the 6.6 i had in the past.
Oil changes should be as much or cheaper than the 5.3 depending on what oil you use. I do my own oil changes and tend to use Mobil 1.

I tow a boat in the summer and a snowmobile in the winter. Havent towed more than 4000 lbs but so far i love the little dmax.

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[all4glh]

I have a 2.8 Diesel Colorado. My dealer charges a flat rate of around $115 for a diesel oil change, no matter the size. It’s about $155 with a tire rotation after tax. That’s about the only downfall I have so far with the difference between gas and diesel. I know it’s not a full size, same principal though.

 

 

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